NOVEL NEXT Chapter 25
Chapter 25 – Trial (5)
“Well, we haven’t gone very far after all. It would be better to attack before we move any further.”
“The numbers look similar, but how many warriors are there really?”
They had no idea they were being watched with worried eyes, as they slowly chased the marauders and the prisoners.
Chieftain Balun, having been alerted by Rena’s reconnaissance report, instinctively felt that this was the moment for his final decision.
‘Why fear now?’
Looking at the soldiers staring at him, Balun gritted his teeth. Even at this moment, a strange anxiety lingered in the corner of his heart—a remnant of the past.
As the leader of the group, Balun understood all too well how terrifying defeat could be. He wasn’t the only one who had lost family to war; Rena did too.
That fear was still gripping him tightly. The desperate resistance and the countless hooves that trampled that resistance down. Tribe members and family collapsing before his eyes.
‘No. This time is different.’
To suppress the nightmarish memories that surged up at the mere thought, Balun took a deep breath and steeled his heart.
Back then and now, the circumstances were entirely different. He had no more than half the soldiers he had before. But these soldiers were not the ones fighting with mere wooden spears.
They wore high-quality armor, something he’d never seen in his life, and wielded steel weapons—proper soldiers, unlike the ragtag group he had before.
Heavy cavalry that could only be found in distant nations beyond the wall, and that power was bestowed by beings that transcended humans. At least, those who had seen those beings would not doubt them.
“Everyone get ready. It would be best to strike when the enemy is caught off guard.”
Thanks to this, Balun made his final decision. They had been driven to this remote region, having lost everything, but now within just a few days, they were ready to charge again.
All the soldiers, including Balun, shared similar experiences. For them, this moment was overwhelming.
“Charge!”
They sprinted up the gentle slope and dashed toward the distant enemies, prepared for a life-and-death struggle.
‘There they are. They’re flustered.’
Leading the charge, Rena, with her superior eyesight, noticed that the enemies had discovered them and were in a state of panic.
Indeed, the enemy was in a flurry, scrambling about in confusion. Their reaction was beyond expectations.
“Th-the enemy! Northeast!”
“Could it be the southern kingdom’s cavalry!? How did they get here!?”
Their panic stemmed not so much from the attack but from the appearance of those who galloped toward them. Fully armored cavalry, a sight rarely seen in this area.
When they attempted to raid this border region, the reprisal was swift, with their main forces spilling into villages and committing massacres, which bred a fear deeply ingrained in them. Fairy tales told to children often depicted these foes as demons.
“Captain! What should we do now!?”
“We fight. Whether we die fighting or get punished for failing the mission, it’s the same.”
Gritting his teeth, the captain decided to stand and fight. The prisoners and spoils he was taking were orders from the chief and regarded as property. Failing to protect them would result in harsh punishment.
“Right. We must fight. The numbers are similar, so it should be doable.”
Garon, the shaman, encouraged the captain. His confident demeanor instilled some hope in those frightened by the mention of the southern kingdom’s cavalry.
“You seem quite confident.”
“Since the moment I first learned from my master, I’ve wondered whether my powers would work even on those from beyond the wall.”
Garon was simply curious to see how far his magic would stretch. Nonetheless, their purpose aligned, and they prepared to confront the oncoming enemies.
“No need to be afraid. They’re the type to compensate for their lack of skill with heavy armor! Slow and cumbersome, we can definitely handle them.”
The captain, who was also an excellent warrior, personally rallied the soldiers. It wasn’t that he lacked confidence. He genuinely believed they could overcome even in a frontal assault.
“Shall we try to seize the initiative?”
Chuckling at the prospect, Garon raised his staff and began to manipulate his mana.
The spectral figures, resembling black smoke, surged from the ground and flew up, dashing between the galloping cavalry as they charged toward the enemy.
“Chieftain! What’s that!?”
“We have no choice. Everyone grab your bows!”
Balun observed the approaching enemies and the spectral entities shooting through the air, their black tails trailing behind.
The grotesque faces of those specters, screaming chillingly as they charged, were terrifying enough to make even their fellow enemies quiver. But it was already too late. There was nothing left but a direct collision.
‘It’s nothing to worry about.’
Amidst this chaos, Rena gripped her sword tightly.
The evil spirits summoned by Garon were dreadful-looking monsters, and yet, rather than fear her heart surged with battle fervor. After all, she had fought and defeated a skull monster far larger and more horrifying than those evil spirits.
For Rena, this moment felt like destiny, a continuation of the trial from that day.
[Celestial Blessing · Light of Protection]
And the reward for capturing that skeleton monster operated perfectly not just there, but also here. The celestial light dwelling within her resonated with her mana, erupting forth from the sword she raised.
Even the Demon Lord, who sought to engulf the world, could not escape this divine power. The wandering spirits summoned by a mere rookie necromancer were no match for such brilliance.
“Impossible!”
“Fire!”
As Garon gaped in horror at his spirits being purified in an instant by Rena’s light, both armies came within range and drew their bows, releasing arrows simultaneously.
“Ah… cough.”
“Ahh!”
The marauders had had the wrong idea from the beginning. The enemies they faced were not the distant cavalry from beyond the wall.
Dressed in partial plate armor, they were akin to the marauders themselves, tailored to minimize weight while maintaining critical coverage.
Their cavalry skills and mounted martial arts were not inferior to those of the marauders. Moreover, the arrows shot by the marauders flew wide or were deflected by Balun, who had gathered strength into his body.
“Those bastards…!”
The captain swung his sword, creating a wind gust to knock away the arrows, gritting his teeth as he watched his men fall to the arrows.
With things having come this far, all that remained was a direct clash. Both sides sensed this moment and held their breath, raising their weapons.
“!”
A strong impact followed. The captain, wielding his glaive, swung it with all his might toward Rena. In battles between awakened warriors, the most important factor was to overwhelm the opponent’s balance.
Naturally, Rena swung her sword with full force to deflect his weapon.
‘Huh?’
At that moment, he felt his body lift off the ground and his eyes widened. With a burst of blood spraying, both his horse’s head and his own body were sent soaring through the air.
‘How could this happen…’
Unaware of the existence of skills, he had been caught by Rena’s basic skill, Smash, and fell to the ground, clutching his shattered weapon.
Dazed, he got up from the ground, still bewildered.
“You, you can’t possibly be one of us?”
“Raise your sword again, marauder.”
It was only then that he recognized Rena as one of his kind as she looked down at him from atop her horse. She remained steady, pointing her sword directly at him.
“What exactly are you?”
He glowered at Rena as he watched his troops being picked off one by one amidst the chaotic melee. The momentum had already broken for them, and they began to crumble.
“We’re just those who were driven from our home, dreaming of revenge against scum like you.”
“Tch, looking down on me, you brat…”
‘If I can just take this girl down, I can turn the tide!’
In the face of Rena’s disrespectful answer, he felt anger boiling within him. There was still hope—it wasn’t entirely lost.
He judged Rena, who stood before him, as the only warrior present. If he could take her down, the remaining soldiers would be easy to push back. Yet, he was oblivious to the fact that he had already been overpowered by her skill in a single blow.
“Don’t call me petty. War is like this. Attack!”
He grinned as he charged forward, joined by subordinate warriors rushing to his side, attempting to surround Rena from all sides. He planned to capture her and flip the situation in his favor.
‘Just like before.’
Rena surveyed the approaching foes with calm eyes. The sight of multiple enemies rushing toward her was not unfamiliar to her.
In the past, she had been unable to overcome this situation, finding herself in peril, narrowly escaping at the cost of her master’s life who had jumped in to save her.
Now was the moment to overcome it on her own.
With the first enemy rushing at her from the side, she swung her sword, watching as her blade cut through its body with speed and strength far surpassing the enemy’s.
*
“…”
A scene that felt like it belonged in a movie, or honestly, something that couldn’t even compare to cinema. I found myself glued to the screen, unable to take my eyes off the fierce battleground.
The brutal war unfolding within that frame captivated me more than anything else. Watching people kill each other, I couldn’t help but root for the residents.
[Moment of Proof (1): 5000P]
And an achievement was unlocked. Rena, having trained diligently and umped herself with the Celestial Blessing and skills obtained throughout the game, cut down the enemy leader and warrior after warrior, finally bringing victory when her remaining allies forced the remaining enemies into submission.
The Master Program, recognizing this as an outstanding achievement, rewarded her with a larger point amount than I had ever seen.
This victory was not just a simple win but a moment proving themselves against the marauders who attacked and chased them from home.
‘What a relief.’
They are my partners. I was relieved that they incurred minimal injuries and didn’t suffer defeat, causing a sense of liberation to wash over me.
“–, —!”
Now they were pacifying the terrified prisoners and subduing the man identified as Garon, the shaman.
Though it was my first encounter with a spellcaster, seeing Rena block Garon’s shamanistic magic with her Celestial Blessing suggested that he wasn’t particularly impressive after all.
[Master Program, Level 2 Promotion]
“Promotion?”
Moreover, their achievements didn’t end there; they had effects that rippled through other areas as well.
[User Community Open]
It seemed several things had changed, but the most noticeable was the unlocking of the previously inaccessible community feature.
Though I was alone for now, it was clear that more people like me could arise based on the situation.
In preparation for that, I carefully accessed the community window that had come with the user manual.
“If you’ve made it this far…”
-If you’ve made it this far, please leave a message.
After much thought, I wrote the very first post. Those like me, who might appear in the future, were neither competitors nor enemies. We were merely people who found ourselves in the same situation.